Better with Two
by Serisia
Summary: What might have happened between the aired episodes of Season 1. Gonna be AU later on. My first summary, I guess I'm not very good at it ;) Rated T because I'm paranoid
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_**A/N:** So here it is, my first ever fanfic. In fact my first published work ever. I never was into fan fiction, until I started watching Doctor Who a year ago and was left heartbroken at the fate of my Doctor and his Rose. Yes, I say HIS Rose ;) So don't expect to find Ten anywhere in my stories. Sorry ;) _

_Anyway, so I was left heartbroken and my sister-in-law introduced me to fan fiction. I had tried it before but it never felt right. But now it was the answer! So now I'm hooked and addicted. But I never seem to find exactly what I'm searching for, so in the end I had no choice but to start my own new reality. So here it is; my attempt on creating a Happily-ever-after for my OTP. It's planned as a multi-chapter story and since I also got addicted on Supernatural a few months ago, there probably will be a crossover chapter later on. Also I'm not a native speaker, so please forgive the flaws. _

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of its characters. I make no profit with this.

_"What use are emotions if you will not save the woman you love?" _

Rose turned over in bed, her sleep disturbed by memories of the day. She hadn't had time to process everything that had happened in van Statten's Vault. The moment it happened she hadn't even noticed the Dalek's conversation with the Doctor.

_"What use are emotions if you will not save the woman you love?" _

Even the stupid Dalek thought they were a couple! Why did everybody think they were a couple? What did they see? Pictures and scenes flashed before her eyes.

"_I'm so glad I met you." "Me too." _

"_Not a bad life?" "Better with two." _

"_I could save the world but lose you." _

And numerous times of holding hands and brilliant smiles.

She shook her head, now fully awake. Nah, all that meant nothing, this was just the way they were. All those people simply didn't know them. But why did it annoy her so much what they all thought? There was nothing bad about getting associated with the Doctor. She wasn't embarrassed by these suggestions. What was it then? '_You want it'_ a little voice inside her whispered. '_You're not annoyed about the question; you're annoyed you can't answer it with yes. And every time somebody asks, he's rubbing it in' _

"Bollocks", she said aloud. She didn't want to be with the Doctor in that way. He was her best friend, nothing more and nothing less. Besides, she had Mickey. He was her boyfriend. Sort of. And now there was Adam, too. She had more than enough boy trouble without drooling over the Doctor. She didn't even know where these thoughts came from all of a sudden. They were pointless anyway; the Doctor would never even consider seeing more in her than his traveling companion. She was young, she was nothing special and most important she was only human. Nothing a 900 year old Time Lord would find particularly interesting.

She found herself sulking over these facts and mentally slapped herself. "Stop it!" What was wrong with her? It had to be the near-death-experience. Or maybe the hormones. It was a long time since she had been alone with Mickey. And since she spent most of her time with the Doctor now, it surely was natural that her thoughts drifted towards him more and more often. That was one of the reasons she wanted Adam to come along, she reminded herself. Not that she tried to replace Mickey, but some distraction couldn't hurt. If she was honest with herself, she didn't really see herself as Mickey's girlfriend anymore and the love she felt for him was more a deep friendship than anything else. But she wasn't ready to give up on him completely. He was a kind of anchor, binding her to home and if she'd cut this one, the only one remaining would be her mother. It was unfair, because Mickey really loved her, or at least thought he did, but she couldn't help herself.

No, she didn't want to think about that at the moment either. It had been a pretty bad day and those thoughts didn't help to lighten her mood. Maybe a cup of tea would. Rose climbed out of bed and put her slippers on. Her pajama was ok to walk through the Tardis in it, so she didn't bother with dressing. A bit of light leaked out under the kitchen door and when she opened it, the Doctor was sitting at the table, holding a steaming hot mug in his hands and staring at the wall. He didn't seem to notice her entrance. Rose cleared her throat, "Doctor?" He snapped out of his thoughts, his gaze snapped to her face. "Oh. Hello Rose. What are you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep. Too much going through my head." She looked at his hands, the mug seemed to be very hot, too hot to hold and the Doctor seemed absent mindedly. "Doctor, are you ok? Isn't the mug burning your fingers?" "Hm? Oh!" he finally seemed to notice it and placed the cup on the table. "Yes, yes, everything alright."

"Doctor, please. Talk to me. You had a hell of a day and I'm here for you!" she silently cursed herself for going to bed without checking if he was alright. He had to relive the elimination of his people today and of course he would suffer. And she ran off to show Adam around the Tardis and then to get her sleep. The Doctor was right; she really was a stupid ape sometimes.

Rose took the Doctor's hand and looked into his eyes. They were full of pain and unshed tears. "Doctor, I'm so sorry. I should have stayed with you. I should have been there for you. But I'm here now. Please, talk to me." He was still looking at the table and didn't answer. "I know it must've been horrible for you to meet that Dalek, to be reminded of the Time War and your people and the things you had to do. I'm so so sorry Doctor! It was all my fault. Hadn't I touched the Dalek, none of this would have happened! I…"

"I thought I'd lost you!" the Doctor interrupted her. "I thought you were dead" His gaze had wandered to their joined hands. "I don't know what I…" he looked into her eyes, a tear falling from his.

"Oh Doctor, I'm so sorry! But it's ok. I'm ok." She wrapped her arms around him resting her head on his shoulder. "I mean, what had I told your mother?" he joked. She chuckled. "And Rose, it wasn't your fault. Please don't think that! It was mine, I should have told you about the Daleks and the Time War much sooner." "It's ok Doctor, we got off with a black eye." she lifted her head, looked into his face and smiled. Finally his face broke off into this brilliant wide smile she liked to think was just for her.

The moment grew longer and they still gazed into each other's eyes, their faces only inches apart. Rose felt the slight shifting of the atmosphere. She could almost see the tension growing between them. Then the Doctor's eyes grew wide and he cleared his throat, breaking the tension and the hug. He almost jumped from his chair, taking his mug and putting it in the sink. His face was slightly pink and Rose had the feeling hers had the same colour. She couldn't help but giggle nervous and rise from her chair uncomfortably.

"Well, you should go to bed Rose, you had a tough day. I think I'm going to take a little rest, too." Finally he turned to look at her again. "Good night Rose Tyler." And he gave her his widest smile. She returned it "Good night Doctor, sweet dreams." And she turned and walked to her room. There she leaned against the closed door and took a deep breath, still shaking slightly

'_Adam_' she thought, '_I definitely need to concentrate on Adam!_'


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_**A/N**__: And here is Chapter 2! Hope you like it. I would be really happy about reviews ;)_

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who or any of its characters. I make no profit with this.

* * *

><p>Adam.<p>

What a failure. What an embarrassment. She had been the one to convince the Doctor to let him come along. And now this. They were on their way to take him home. The stupid bloke had gone and gotten himself an infospike. It seemed like she couldn't do anything right. She wouldn't be surprised if the next stop of the Tardis were the Powell Estates to drop her off.

And he hadn't even fulfilled his purpose. Rose was nowhere near getting the Doctor out of her head, on the contrary. Since that evening in the kitchen she caught herself thinking about the Doctor, staring at him, even dreaming about him more frequently.

And now Adam was standing next to her, pleading. "Rose, please listen to me. I'm sorry! It wasn't my fault! How was I supposed to know what was gonna happen? I didn't know you were gonna get in trouble and they would get everything out of my head. "

"Shut up! " Rose couldn't stand one more word of this. "Don't you understand? That's not the problem! You were lying. You said you would go back to the Tardis, but you just wanted to be alone, to spend as much time with the terminal as possible. Then you went and got yourself that thing implanted, that futuristic technology, without knowing or even considering the risks for yourself or of bringing it back to the Tardis. And then you got all that knowledge and put it on your answering machine. And everything just for your own selfish reasons. Without even thinkin' about the consequences. And THAT is the problem!"

With that she turned away, but then stopped and addressed him once more. "Oh and I wanted to thank you in advance. It's more than likely he will take me home now as well! I was the one stupid enough to trust you..." and she walked away before he could see her tears.

So she didn't hear Adam murmur "Yeah right, as if he would ever let you go." Then he took a deep breath, steadied himself and followed her slowly to the console room.

###################

When Rose came into the console room, quickly wiping away a few stray tears, the Doctor was busy piloting the Tardis. He wasn't looking at her and she didn't expect him to. She sat down in the jump seat, pulled her knees up and placed her head on top of them. She loved watching the Doctor at the console. His long fingers caressing the buttons and levers, his muscles moving under his beloved leather jacket, his face crumpled in concentration but at the same time so relaxed, almost happy.

The Doctor and his Tardis.

She loved the beautiful sentient ship; she even loved the mental connection that had scared her so much in the beginning. Nonetheless she couldn't help but feel the sting of jealousy as she watched the Doctor. She wished he would treat her with the same tenderness.

'_Oh Rose_', she scolded herself, '_What are you doing? You have to stop this if you don't want it to end really badly._' But if he really took her home, she should take every chance she got to enjoy watching him. She took in every line in his face, every little thing, from his short hair over his unbelievably beautiful eyes to his gorgeous ears. She knew he didn't think he was handsome but Rose realized at this moment, that she would happily agree to never look at any other man again, if it meant she could see his face every day for the rest of her life.

Well, it seemed it was already too late to be cautious and not fall for him. But how couldn't she? Was there anything more adorable than a man with almost godlike powers, who was self-conscious and insecure because of his ears? Rose smiled at that thought. No, she told herself, she wasn't going to give up this easily! She wouldn't just let him take her home. Not without a fight!

Just in this moment Adam arrived at the console room and the chance to say something was gone.

The Doctor looked up. "Oi! Perfect timing! We just arrived." Rose saw him glance at her, but before she could figure out if the look on his face was sadness, he turned away and walked to the door. "Well, let's get this over with."

###################

Rose closed the Tardis door behind her and leaned against it. They were alone again. But she still didn't know if she would have time to enjoy it. She felt a flicker of hope though, he had said he only took the best and he got her. Did that mean he still thought she was one of the best? Or had he just said it to annoy Adam? Well, there was no point in standing around and asking herself these questions. Time to find out what fate he got in mind for her.

The Doctor had sent them into the vortex and left the control room right away. She went to find him, but didn't have any luck. He wasn't in the kitchen, or at the library, or his room. She even went to the swimming pool to look for him. After over an hour of searching, she fell onto her bed exhausted. As she was starting to drift off, she suddenly felt a gentle nudge at the edge of her mind. To her own surprise she stayed absolutely calm.

'_So this is what it feels like when the Tardis is communicating with you'_ she thought. Then a picture of the gardens popped up in her mind and she jumped off the bed immediately.

"Thank you" she smiled to the ceiling before running out of her room and to the garden door. Arriving at the door she stopped. She suddenly felt weirdly self-conscious. She ran her fingers through her hair, straightened her clothes and rubbed the skin under her eyes to make sure there was no smudged mascara there. The she opened the door.

The door let to the 'normal part' of the gardens, as she used to call it. It was an ordinary earth garden, except it wasn't ordinary and it wasn't a garden. It was more like a stunningly beautiful forest. There were all sorts of trees and bushes and grass so green it almost looked unnatural. And there were flowers. Millions and millions of flowers in all possibly imaginable colours. It was simply amazing. But Rose knew that he wouldn't be here. He would be in the 'Doctor-part' of the gardens. She walked through the gorgeously smelling air until she reached the place where the green grass suddenly turned red. There she stopped and took some moments to take in the breathtaking view. As far as one could look, there was a thick carpet of flamingly red grass. Everywhere stood trees with silver leafs and the grass was dotted with patches of dark green and royal blue coloured flowers.

Rose took off her shoes and socks. She loved the way the red grass felt under her bare feet. It was like silk and velvet, caressing her skin. She walked to the Doctor's favourite spot; a particularly huge silver tree with silver leafs that were singing in the slight breeze. It stood on a small hill, overlooking the gardens, so the Doctor could see her coming. He watched her while she climbed the hill but dropped his gaze the moment she stood before him. That took her by surprise and she forgot what she wanted to say.

She stared down at him, sitting in the gallifreyan grass and let herself drop to the floor. Then she looked at him again, took a deep breath and said "I'm sorry!" At exactly the same moment the Doctor lifted his head to gaze at her and said "I'm sorry!" simultaneous with her.

"What? You're sorry? What for?" she asked him confused. The Doctor wasn't any less stunned "What are you sorry for Rose?"

"For once again ruining everything and nearly getting us killed? I was the one who wanted Adam to come with us!"

"Oh Rose, it's not your fault! You didn't know what kind of guy he was and I really can't blame you for wanting company your age. Especially when it's such a pretty boy" he teased, but his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "And that's the point. I'm sorry I had to take him home! I don't want to force you to spend all of your time with a grumpy old time lord, but I really couldn't keep him on the Tardis. He was too much of a risk for all of us, even himself."

"Doctor, shut up!" she laughed and nearly knocked him over when she flung herself into his arms. "I don't care about Adam at all! I wanted him gone since we first stepped out of the Tardis on Satellite Five. I thought you would take me home." She nearly cried with relieve.

"Oi! You don't tell me to shut up Rose Tyler!" he yelled, but he laughed and hugged her tightly. "I'd never take you home just because you do something stupid." He snickered.

They stayed under the tree until it got dark and the stars appeared in the Tardis-generated sky. The Doctor showed Rose the constellations of his home planet until she fell asleep in the grass next to him. The Doctor watched over her the whole night. When she awoke the next morning the first thing she saw was his smiling face and even if she had wanted to, she would have had no choice then to smile back at him.

"Good morning Rose. Slept well?"

"Good morning Doctor. It was wonderful. I always wanted to do this as a child."

"Then why haven't you?"

"We were living in London my whole life. And with my dad gone my mum had to work all the time and barely made a living anyway, so she couldn't take me out of town for a holiday... Doctor, have I ever told you about my dad?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_**A/N: **__Finally, Chapter 3. It takes place after "Father's Day". Thanks to everybody who's reading, it means a lot to me :) And TiaKisu, thank you so much for the review, I had a really crappy day when you wrote it and it totally saved me. So, anyway... Here we go!_

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„Doctor? " Rose stepped into the console room, unsure how he would react. "Rose! How are you? So glad to seeyou!"

"I'm ok, thanks. You know, I wanted to ask... Could we do something...like... really nice? No running, no fighting, no...dying..., no saving the world... just a bit of relaxing before getting back to the big stuff? I know, the last trip was my choice too, but..."

"No, of course Rose! I could certainly use a break too, after the whole non-existence-stuff." He sounded light-heartedly, but Rose flinched at his words and was glad he had turned to the console already, so he couldn't see her reaction. She knew he didn't want her to worry about him but she also knew that the incident with the reapers hadn't left him as unaffected as he wanted her to think.

After she had watched her father die and held his hand, the Doctor had taken her back to the Tardis and piloted the ship into the vortex. Rose, numb with grief and sorrow, had given him a short hug and then went to her room, where she had been for the last three days, lying on her bed crying or simply staring at a wall, thinking. The Doctor left her alone, only knocking on the door twice a day to tell her he left a tray of food in front of it. Rose knew that he was worried about her but didn't say anything or pressure her because the Tardis kept him updated on her well-being. Rose would be forever grateful for the Doctor and his wonderful ship, who gave her exactly what she needed during these horrible days, without her needing to ask for it.

She wouldn't have been able to talk to the Doctor anyway. She was overcome by such deep sadness, that she wasn't even able to move most of the time. She had always been sad about her dad being dead and her never getting to know him, but now it was different. Now she knew him, knew what a great man he had been and losing him was now almost unbearable, but she would never want to miss the time with him. While she lay on her bed, slowly coming to terms with the new kind of grief and love she felt for her father, she had noticed another layer of pain inside her heart. And after waking from a nightmare last night, screaming the Doctor's name, she finally knew what it was.

When the Reaper had taken the Doctor she had felt like she was dying. The Doctor, **her** Doctor, the most amazing man she had ever met, was gone. She would never hold his hand again, never get to see his brilliant smile, hear his wonderful voice and gorgeous accent, she would never have the chance to proof herself worthy of being his companion or more, he would never know what he meant to her, that she didn't go with him because he had a time machine and she wanted to safe her father, but because she knew the moment he told her he was an alien and she didn't care, that this man was special and the connection they had was special and that she had felt like her life was over when she had said no and the Tardis disappeared. And now she had destroyed everything, had lost everything, had lost him. He had sacrificed himself for her, for a few more minutes she could share with her father.

When she crouched on the floor of that church to pick up the fallen Tardis-key, the reality of what she really felt for the Doctor hit her. She loved him. She loved him with all her heart and soul and she wanted nothing else than spend her life, her forever with him. Even if he would never love her back she would be happier with just being by his side than she would ever be anywhere else. But she'd lost him. Forever. It was almost unbearable but the danger they all were in and her father's sacrifice distracted her.

But now there was no distraction anymore and while she was lying in her bed in the Tardis all these feelings surfaced again and she was crying. She cried about the pain of losing him, the remorse of hurting him and the relief of having him back. She almost jumped out of the bed to run and look for him but held herself back. She forced herself to shower first, to calm down and get out of this emotional turmoil. She wasn't ready to tell him how she felt, was scared it would scare him, be too domestic for him or he would feel constrained to react on it, but she wanted to be by his side, hold his hand and hear his voice. Just spend time with him. And now here he was, flying the Tardis to some nice planet, again giving her just what she needed.

Before she could even think about it, Rose flung her arms around the Doctor, pressing her face into the back of his leather jacket and hugged him tight. "Thank you" she whispered, but she knew he heard it. She inhaled his scent deeply before letting him go, then he turned around and they smiled at each other, hearing the unmistakable sound of the Tardis landing.

"Ready?" He held out his hand and Rose took it, beaming.

"Always."

"Fantastic!"

#######################

When they stepped outside, Rose almost forgot to breath – what would have been a waste, because the air smelled absolutely wonderful. The Tardis had landed in the middle of a beautiful jungle, full of red trees with purple leafs and the most amazing collection of flowers in all colours of the rainbow. "Oh my... Doctor! It's...it's absolutely breathtaking! Where are we?"

The Doctor looked down on the beautiful human girl next to him and smiled. Seeing her joy was worth taking a day off. "The planet doesn't have a name yet, there's no intelligent life so far. In a few hundred years the human race will discover and populate it and they will call it Tropica. Creative bunch, you lot. But for now there's nobody around. Not even any dangerous animals, so no running, no fighting, just a nice quiet day off. Fancy a look around?"

Rose, whose smile had grown wider with everything he'd said, nodded excitedly. "But wait Doctor. What if we get hungry? A picnic would be nice, don't you think?

So they went back into the Tardis where they packed a picnic basket with all the great things they had bought on their last trip to an exotic alien market. The basket was tiny, so they would have no problem carrying it around all day, but it had bigger-on-the-inside-technology, so everything they needed fit in.

After strolling through the jungle for at least two hours during which Rose had had picked flowers to make herself a little crown and found a cute little bunny-like creature to cuddle with, they suddenly stepped out of the jungle onto a clearing. In its centre was a pond, perfectly round. "Oh Doctor, it's beautiful, like a fairytale. Perfect place for the picnic." Rose looked up to him, smiling her stunning tongue-in-teeth-smile and he couldn't help but smile back.

"Whatever you want my lady" he teased, "It's your day."

After they had eaten, the Doctor looked down on his companion. She lay on her back, eyes closed, a small smile playing around her lips. She looked so relaxed, almost happy and absolutely beautiful. It took all willpower not to stroke her face. He had been worried over these past days. He knew she was healthy, the Tardis kept him updated, but he also knew she was crying most of the time, barely leaving her bed and she just ate tiny bits of the food he brought her. He wished he could be there for her, but he wanted to give her space and the time she needed to grief for her father, this brilliant man who had sacrificed himself for the world.

It had also given him time to think about his own actions over the last months since he met a wonderful human girl called Rose Tyler. Her mother had slapped him, but instead of taking off and leaving the girl behind, he was happy it made her laugh and later gave her a Tardis-key. While trapped in Downing Street he knew the solution, but instead of telling Mickey to launch the missile right away, he wasted time out of fear. Fear of losing Rose. And now on top of everything he had brought her back to see her father. Then he'd sacrificed himself, although he knew it would give her not more than a few more minutes. But she could spend them with her father and that made it worth it.

Those were many times over the last few months that his actions had been unreasonable, stupid even. But he couldn't bring himself to regret anything. What was it about this girl that made himact like that?

Pictures of Rose with Mickey appeared in his mind, Rose with Adam, and a great pang of jealousy hit him. And there, in the console room of the Tardis, alone with his thoughts, the Doctor finally admitted the truth, at least to himself.

He was in love with Rose Tyler.

Thinking about it now, it was probably some kind of love at first sight. He had felt a special kind of connection to this human he'd never felt with anyone before.

But at the same moment he realized his feelings for her, he also knew he would never act on them. He was no saint, but he would never burden their friendship with his feelings. Rose Tyler deserved better. She deserved someone good, undamaged, young, good-looking, someone who could offer her some kind of normal life and stability, not a 900 years old alien who never stopped running.

He knew it would hurt as hell when she left him one day, but he swore to himself to cherish every moment till then and to help her find happiness, even if it was with some pretty boy. He would have to work on this jealousy-thing...

But now, lying in the grass at this beautiful lake, on this wonderful planet, all he wanted to do was look at Rose, enjoy her happiness and memorize every little bit of this moment, so he could the memory years from now, when she was long gone and he was back to travelling alone.

#############

Yawning, Rose opened her eyes and caught the Doctor staring at her. He looked incredibly handsome, sitting here at this great place, his ever-present leather coat lying next to him on the blanket, the sleeves of his dark green jumper rolled up so she could see the slightly tanned skin of his arms. She really had to hold herself back from stroking his arm, wondering when it had gotten tanned; he barely took off the coat after all. She smiled up at him, tongue in teeth. There was something in the way he looked at her, so she couldn't help herself but ask, "See anything you like?"

Before she could begin to regret the teasing question she was rewarded by him blushing in the cutest way possible and looking almost... embarrassed. He quickly looked away, stammering "Uhm, yeah, uhm, this... flower behind you... It's, uhm, beautiful..."

Rose stifled a giggle, but inside she was overjoyed by the fact, that it was her, little shop girl from London, who made the Doctor, the mighty time lord, blush. She didn't dare thinking about possible reasons for his reaction, just savoured the moment.

"Yeah, well, maybe we should pack up and go back to the Tardis before it gets dark, don't you think?" Rose could almost see his relief when she changed the subject.

"Yes, you're right! Let me help you up." He jumped to his feet, took her hand and pulled her up. In his haste he pulled a bit too fast, so she lost her balance and she landed in his arms. That caused the Doctor to blush again and he tried to take a quick step back, but Rose took his other hand and held him back.

She waited until he avoided her gaze and said earnestly "Thank you Doctor. Really. Thank you. For everything." She held his gaze until she was certain he'd fully understood what she meant.

She saw his brilliant smile slowly creeping back onto his face and before she could even think about not doing it, she leaned forwards and kissed his cheek. "Thank you." Then she let go of his hands and turned away, starting her way back to the Tardis, acting as if the whole situation was completely normal. She really didn't want the Doctor to see her face, for now it was her turn to blush. What was she even thinking? But she had been so lost in the moment; it had just been the right thing to do...

##############

The Doctor stood frozen to the spot; the half-smile vanished from his face. He could still feel her perfectly soft lips on his cheek. That really was the only thing to convince him that he hadn't imagined the kiss.

'_Stupid alien'_ he chided himself, _'don't be smug about this. This was just a thank-you-kiss; don't let your dirty mind think otherwise.'_

He was lucky Rose had already stepped between the trees, so she didn't see him standing around like an idiot. Now he heard her calling for him. "Doctor? Are you coming?"

He mentally kicked himself, gathered the remains of their picnic, his coat and the blanket and started following her. "Comin'!"

He would word on his jealousy, he would help Rose Tyler find happiness and let her go when the time came, but he would also enjoy her company for as long as he could and he would always remember how her lips had felt on the skin of his cheek.

All things considered, it had been a pretty good day off...


	4. Chapter 4 Part I

Chapter 4, Part I

_**A/N:**__ I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry for the late update! I had some trouble writing this chapter and then it got longer and longer. Therefore I split it in two parts. Part II will go online in a week. This is the Supernatural crossover chapter I talked about in the beginning. For those of you who don't like crossovers or Supernatural, you can skip this chapter, I'm gonna write a summary of the relevant events at the beginning of chapter 5 (which I hope will be ready in 2 weeks). And I'm always happy if you review ;)_

_And here we are now, Chapter 4. It takes place after DW Season 1 Ep 10 "The Doctor dances" and the Supernatural timeline is somewhere at the end of Season 8, after Ep 17 "Goodbye, Stranger" going AU from there, because Castiel didn't bolt off with the angel tablet._

#####

Well, that didn't go too well... But he just couldn't stop himself. Dancing with Rose had been an incredible pleasure, so when he saw Captain Jack Harkness ('Captain'! Ha! As if!) look at her, clearly wanting to take the next dance and who knows what else, he couldn't let him. It was absolutely foolish to act like that, but he still had severe problems with this jealousy thing. His reward was worth it though. Rose and him danced and danced, while Jack was watching, a look on his face that almost resembled... defeat. When Rose was too exhausted to go on, the three of them went to the kitchen to have a cup of tea and to talk a little bit before bed. Jack entertained them with his 'battle stories', cons he had done (many of them going wrong), and multiple executions he'd always by some miracle escaped from.

The Doctor had a lot of fun himself and he had to admit that he really started to like Captain Jack, but the real joy was watching Rose laugh. She had been sadder than usual after seeing her father die, but now she finally seemed nothing than young and happy again. He felt a sharp sting of jealousy every time she looked at Jack admiringly or slapped him playfully when he was telling something extra naughty, but he knew he had to get used to this if he wanted to let her go someday. And looking at her and Jack together, the possibility that Jack would be the one to take her away was not that far-fetched.

The Doctor was still busy convincing himself that this was nothing to worry about and it wouldn't take more than a few days to get over his jealousy because it nearly was gone already, when Jack told a story about him learning to massage and Rose seized the opportunity to climb onto his lap, purr like a little cat and beg for a demonstration.

At once the Doctor's vision went red; he couldn't think a single straight thought and had to keep himself from pulling the girl away from the Captain and growl like an angry animal. So he did the opposite of what his instincts told him, jumped to his feet, mumbled an excuse and all but ran from the kitchen.

Now he was pacing his room, unsure what to do and how to act around his two companions. "Come on, pull yourself together! You're 900 years old, for goodness sake! You can handle this!" He swore he heard the Tardis chuckle inside his head while he shouted this into his empty room. "Oh yeah, really helpful! Thanks a lot", he muttered to his ship. "You're supposed to be on my side." If he only knew what 'his side' was... This was what he wanted, wasn't it?

Rose finding happiness, no matter what this meant for him. He wouldn't have had a chance anyway. What did she say when he first told her his age? 'My mum was right; this is one hell of an age gap.' And it was. He had seen things, done things, lost things... He was old, broken and not to forget, he was a different species. What would someone as brilliant as Rose Tyler want with him? She was kind and warm-hearted, she had a fierce sense of justice and she was so very compassionate. She most certainly would be horrified if she knew what he had done in his past. And he could never offer her a normal life, settling down, having a family, growing old together. It was better to lose her now and to know that she would have a happy life, than to lose her in 60 years to death.

But there still was the problem of his jealousy. He could have all the good intentions and the best reasons, but as soon as he saw another man approach Rose, some primal instinct kicked in. It was disgusting. Maybe it would be best to spend a little time away from the both of them, just to cool himself off a little bit. When he had had the chance to get to know Jack better and be sure he could trust him, he should take the two of them to a nice, crowded place, with endless possibilities to spend the time. They wouldn't even notice him leaving them alone.

#####

"So, where are we Doctor?" Rose stepped out of the Tardis, looking around.

"Los Ange..." the Doctor froze when he left the Tardis. "Well... I mean..." he looked around, frantic.

"You don't know, do you? You got it wrong. Again." Rose had a hard time keeping a steady face. But one look at the Doctor's reddening ears and it was over. She burst out laughing, clutching the Tardis for support.

Jack came out last, grinning, clapping the Doctor's shoulder. "Don't worry Doc. Happens to the best of us." The Doctor just glared at him.

When Rose had calmed down enough to speak again, she asked where they really were. The Doctor took a moment, looked around, and took several deep breaths until his face lit up. "Minot, North Dakota."

Rose's face fell. "Son of a bitch!"

"Excuse me?" the Doctor stared at her while she clapped her hands over her mouth.

"Sorry! I guess I read a little too much of the 'Supernatural' books lately. _When_ are we anyway? We gotta go to a bookstore. Maybe there are some new books. I only got them 'til the end of the apocalypse. Swan song! Great book..." she sighed dreamily.

The Doctor and Jack looked at each other, both rolling their eyes. Those books again. For months Rose had been talking about these books constantly, ever since she'd found the first few of the series at a tiny used-books store in 2025. So now every time they were on earth, she dragged them along to the shops, looking for editions she didn't have. Well, if it made her happy...

"It's", he looked at his watch, "2013. Well, I suppose we could go to town and search the stores before heading back to the Tardis and go to LA." Rose beamed at him and the Doctor was glad he had suggested this.

#####

Two hours later they came out of a little bookstore, laden with books. Or they would have been laden, if it weren't for the Doctor and his brilliant time-lord-pockets. Rose was nearly ecstatic, going on and on about the book series. "A whole new season! I can't believe it! I wonder how Sam got out of the cage. And how long it took Dean to realize that this apple-pie-life is not for him. He just _needs _to be out there you know. 'Saving people, hunting things. The family business...'"

The Doctor zoned out, letting her talk and leaving the playing-interested-part to Jack. Suddenly Rose trailed off, eyes fixed on a newspaper stand. Most of the newspapers had the same kind of headline.

"Local Haunted House – How many victims will he take this time?"

She quickly scanned the article and her face lit up. "Doctor! Jack! Look! That sounds like a case straight out of a 'Supernatural' book! A supposedly haunted house in town where every ten years, on the anniversary of the former owner's suicide, people are killed. College kids staying there over night for a dare and so on. Can we look into it? The anniversary will be tomorrow. Come on, that'd be so much fun. We can go to LA anytime, but something like this doesn't come our way that often."

Rose looked up at him so full of hope and excitement that neither Jack nor the Doctor himself were surprised when he gave in. "Ok, we'll look into it, but I'm sure we'll find a rational explanation pretty quick."

#####

The Tardis materialized below a lamppost outside the so-called haunted house. Rose had spent the last 30 minutes roaming the storages and tool boxes for pure iron things and packed all salt she could find into the picnic-basket. She even had changed into jeans and a plaid-shirt, basic hunter-attire as she was quick to assure the Doctor. Jack just looked pleased when he saw her and smiled.

"Ok guys", Rose chimed cheerfully, "Let's go on a hunt!" She practically ran out the Tardis-door, not able to contain her excitement.

#####

The house was ancient, barely more than a ruin with a roof. Rose took a moment looking at it, admiring the peeling colour and the shattered windows. It was perfect, like right out of a 'Supernatural' book. She half expected Sam and Dean to burst through the door any minute.

The Doctor and Jack took that moment to admire Rose, standing in front of that ramshackle building in her hunter outfit, happy and giddy in anticipation.

When she turned her gaze towards them, it immediately fell on the Doctor, who beamed at her, asking "Ready?" Rose nodded and he took her hand; together they climbed the stairs. Jack fell back, smiling to himself about these two lovesick fools, who didn't seem to notice their respective feelings were reciprocated. A fact that Jack had every intention of changing soon.

"Jack, you comin'?" the Doctor called over his shoulder.

"Yeah Doc, on my way." And he followed.

The door had been bolted up, but it was no match for the sonic screwdriver. It was a good sign though; it indicated that they were the first ones to investigate. There was not much to see inside. The house had been very pretty once, but now there were only empty rooms with mouldy floors and peeling wallpapers.

They took a good long look around, checked upstairs and the basement, but there was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Ok, now we know the inside, let's come back after midnight to keep an eye out, so no teenagers or other ghost-fans get hurt this year." Rose still was enthusiastic. She led the way back out of the front door, but stopped abruptly at the top of the stairs, staring at the people just about to enter the garden.

They were two tall men, one in jeans and a plaid shirt and one in a black suit and blue tie, topped by a tan trench coat. And behind them on the street... a black Chevrolet Impala.

With a big grin on her face, Rose jumped down the stairs, standing in front of the men. "Wow, you guys are really pulling this whole LARPing-thing off. You really must be big fans!" Rose saw 'Dean' roll his eyes before he mumbled, "Yeah. Fanatic..."

"Rose? What's up?" The Doctor and Jack were still standing on the porch.

"Doctor, those two are LARPing! They are 'Supernatural'-fans too and they are playing characters from the books. This one's Dean and the one in the trench coat is Castiel, the angel. Look, they even got a real Impala! Wow, guys, that's so great! You're here about the haunting, right? Well, of course you are! You..." she broke off when the Doctor laid his hand onto her shoulder.

"Rose, calm down. Let the guys breathe for a moment."

Rose took a deep breath. "Yes, you're right. Sorry guys. I'm just so excited to meet some other fans. Those two are not that into it." She pointed at the two men behind her. "Hi, I'm Rose. That's the Doctor and that's Jack."

„Nice to meet you Rose. I'm Dean and this is Cas." The dark blonde in the plaid shirt gave her a wide flirtatious smile while shaking her hand and Rose couldn't help but return it.

"Oh, I'm impressed. Always staying in character, huh?" she winked at him. His gaze was quickly diverted though, when they heard Jack introducing himself to 'Cas'.

"Captain Jack Harkness. Nice to meet you." The man in the trench coat got very nervous and flustered, so Rose figured that Jack's brightest smile had hit him. She could see 'Dean's' smile flicker for a second and there was something in his eyes she couldn't put a name on, but it was gone as quickly as it came. Jack was still holding 'Cas'' hand, who was beet-red by now and shooting slightly panicked sideways glances at 'Dean'. Rose turned to him, expanding her hand to greet him too and to save him from Jack. He gave her a thankful tiny half-smile when he shook her hand.

When everybody had greeted everybody, Rose turned back to 'Dean'. "So, are you going inside? We didn't see anything, but could we come with you?"

"Sure sweetheart, you can come anywhere with me."

To her embarrassment Rose could feel herself blush. She broke away from 'Dean's' moss-green eyes (wow, they were exactly like the real Dean's eyes were described in the books) and started to walk back up the stairs with him.

From behind 'Cas'' deep voice followed them, sounding mildly irritated. "Dean, do you think that's wise? What if..."

"Relax Cas," 'Dean' interrupted him, not even bothering to look back, "it's gonna be fine. Nothing's gonna happen before midnight. We're just taking a look around."

Rose cast a short look over her shoulder and saw the Doctor staring into the distance darkly and Jack watching him with a little smile. Before Rose could wonder what that was all about, 'Dean' said "Ladies first" and she saw him holding the door for her, smirking. She blushed again and grinned, taking a few steps into the house.

The next thing she knew, she was lying flat on her back, looking up to a hole in the ceiling and heard shouting. "ROSE!" – the Doctor. "Rosie!" – Jack. „Wait, no! It's too dangerous! You could break in too!" – 'Dean'.

Then there was a small rustling sound in the air and 'Cas' was beside her. "Don't move" he whispered and touched his fingers to her forehead. One heartbeat and she was on the grass in front of the house, looking up at the darkening sky.

"What...?" she asked the kneeling man beside her. But before he could say anything, there were shouts and one second later the Doctor fell to his knees beside her. "Doctor!" Rose breathed, immediately calmer just by looking into his eyes.

"Rose, are you alright?" she could hear the fear in his voice.

"I don't know. My head hurts and I... Doctor! I can't feel my legs!" she started to panic.

'Cas' placed his hand on her temple, soothingly stroking her hair. "Shh, try to calm down. Everything will be alright." Rose could feel a cool sensation running through her body and the next moment she felt refreshed and healthy and over all better than ever before. She tried to stand up, what she managed with a little help from 'Cas'. She stared at him, wide eyed, while the Doctor and Jack – seeing that she was okay – stepped in front of her, Jack raising his sonic blaster at 'Cas'.

"Who are you? WHAT are you?" the Doctor asked, his hostile gaze nearly matching Jack's.

The dark haired man lost nothing of his calmness while he gently pushed 'Dean's' now also raised gun aside. He looked at every one of the three people in front of him for a moment, before saying,

"I am Castiel. I'm an angel of the Lord."

#####

The stunned silence that followed was broken by Rose's excited gasp, "You're real?" When Castiel nodded, she turned to Dean. "You too?"

"Yes. Dean Winchester, hi."

"But... the books...?"

"They were written by a prophet of the Lord named Chuck Shurley." Castiel (the real ANGEL, Castiel!) answered her confused question.

Rose didn't even think about questioning that. Cas had just teleported her from the basement to the garden and healed her injuries and besides, she spent her days travelling through space and time with a 900 year old alien and a con man from the 51st century. She'd heard weirder stuff.

Dean watched the three people in front of him curiously. They took their revelation pretty good. "So, that's it? You're just gonna believe us?" he couldn't help asking.

"Well, you know, I had some pretty weird encounters over the last few months, so I'm not really that surprised, that angels and monsters are real, too." Dean saw Rose smile at the Doctor briefly. "But wait," her attention snapped back to Dean and Cas, "If you are real, where's Sam? He's not still in the cage with Lucifer, is he?"

Dean flinched a little, Rose's question a painful reminder of his little brother, who was at the bunker, recovering from the second demon trial. Dean hadn't wanted to leave him alone, but his brother had insisted on Dean taking the case with Castiel. If Dean was honest with himself, he was a little relieved to get out of the bunker for a little while and there was the added bonus of spending some time with Cas alone. They didn't often get the chance. "He's sick and stayed at home. And before you ask, yes, we have kind of a home now. Long story." He smiled at Rose to make sure she knew he wasn't really annoyed by her fangirling.

She grinned back, obviously still couldn't quite believe it. She openly gaped at Cas, murmuring "An angel... an actual angel of the... Wait! Doctor! Don't you see?", she started laughing, "you were trying to take the Tardis to Los Angeles, but instead you managed to take us to an actual _**Angel**_! That's just..." the rest of her words drowned in a laughing fit.

Now it was Dean's turn to look confused. "The what? What do you mean; take you here instead of Los Angeles?"

"Yeah, you see the Doctor here," Jack proudly clapped a hand on the Doctor's shoulder, "he's an alien. And the blue box over there?" he pointed to where the Tardis was still parked beneath the lamppost, "that's his time travelling spaceship." Jack grinned widely at Dean. "We three are travelling through time and space together, Rose is from the year 2005 and I am from the 51st century. The Doctor wanted to take us on vacation to LA, but his navigating is a little off sometimes."

"You know, this one time," Rose chimed in, happily ignoring the Doctor's flamingly red ears, "he tried to take me to Naples, 1860, but we ended up in Cardiff, 1869."

Rose and Jack were laughing while the Doctor scowled at them and Cas listened to their stories, full of interest. Nobody noticed Dean's shocked and doubtful gaze. A million questions fought in his head over the privilege to come out first. He wanted to call them off for shitting him, to yell at them for thinking they could fool him with crazy stories about time travelling aliens. But when he looked at Castiel and saw the little smile on his face and no trace of doubt, he stopped himself from asking. If his angel believed the things those three were telling, then Dean would at least take more time to think about it – and maybe yell at them later.

For now, he was determined to concentrate on the case that had brought all of them here. He cleared his throat, "Yeah, I guess it's pretty good you're here, that gives us the chance to maybe gank this ghost before he can harm somebody. We should split up, I take baby to the cemetery and burn that SOB's bones and the rest of you stay here and makes sure the ghost doesn't attack." He caught Castiel's eye and without a word the angel understood that Dean didn't trust those three enough yet to leave them alone at the house. He gave the hunter a small smile in agreement and Dean couldn't help but grin at him, thankful for having Cas by his side and for the deep understanding between them.

Before it could turn into another of their long-time starings, Rose startled them by begging cheerfully "Oh can I please come with you? I'd love to ride in Baby!"

"Um, well, I guess..." Dean started, only to get interrupted by Jack, shouting, „Yeah, me too!" after catching a worried glance from the Doctor, clearly uncomfortable with the thought of letting Rose drive off alone with Dean.

"Okay, I guess?" Dean half agreed, half asked, looking at the Doctor and at Cas, who both nodded in agreement. "Right, let's go burn some bones."

"Shotgun!" Rose happily yelled, hugging the Doctor goodbye quickly and hurried off to sit in the Impala's front seat.

Dean saw Jack smiling at the Doctor reassuringly before the captain went to sit in the backseat of the car and clapped his hand on Cas' shoulder, "See you later Cas. I'll pray if something goes wrong."

Castiel just looked into his eyes, like he always did and said, "Be careful Dean."

"Yeah, you too. Both of you." Dean said, looking at the Doctor. He knew that the angel could take care of himself, but he didn't know the other man and had no idea what he might be capable of.

The Doctor just looked back at him, undisguised warning in his eyes. "You better bring them back unharmed!" He didn't raise his voice, but Dean knew he meant business.

"I'll do my best." Dean replied, matching the Doctor's earnest gaze.


	5. Chapter 4 Part II

Chapter 4, Part II

_**A/N: **__Welcome to Chapter 4 Part II. I decided to post it one day early, as tomorrow Supernatural Episode 10x10 will finally air. (So excited!) For those of you who skip the crossover, I'm sorry, you'll have to wait another week (I hope). Everybody else, have fun :) By the way, reviews are always welcome ;)_

#####

"So... Angel, huh?" the Doctor began, not really sure if he even wanted to have this conversation. He and Castiel were standing on the porch of the old house, carefully avoiding the rotten floor inside. He looked at the man in front of him, taking in his strange appearance, the slightly dirty trench coat over a black suit, crooked blue tie, uncombed jet black hair and piercingly blue eyes. "You really don't look like I would have imagined one."

"What you're looking at is not my true form, merely a vessel I'm occupying. My true form is a multidimensional wavelength of celestial intent, that cannot be perceived by humans without harm."

The Doctor stared at Castiel. "You are possessing the body of a human?" he asked shocked. That sounded awfully like what the Gelth had done, only worse because the possessed human apparently was still alive.

Castiel visibly cringed at the question, obviously uncomfortable with it. Maybe that wasn't the first time he'd heard it. "Well, I guess you could put it that way. But Jimmy, my vessel, was a devout man, a true believer. He had prayed for this." Castiel sounded almost defensive and a little sad, but it was hard to tell by his monotone way of talking and his gruff voice. The Doctor couldn't help but ask, "Was?"

Now Castiel really looked sad. "Yes. He's not... in here anymore... I died several times in the last five years and every time this body was destroyed as well. Somebody, I think my father, brought me back every time, but after the first time Jimmy was no longer with me. I guess his soul was allowed to move on to heaven..." he trailed off pensively.

The Doctor didn't really know what to say, he wasn't okay with this whole possession-thing, but Castiel seemed like a good guy and after everything Rose had told him about those books, the angel was some kind of hero in them, so the Doctor decided to just let it go for now. After all, it wasn't his fault, apparently that was just the way this whole angel-business worked.

The Doctor still had a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that he even was real, but didn't want to have theological discussions right now, so he decided to change the subject.

"So, you and Dean... You're together?" Where the hell did that come from? The Doctor had absolutely no idea, why he just asked that question.

Castiel tilted his head to the side, a confused look in his eyes. Oh, that had to be the famous 'head-tilt' Rose always talked about. "What do you mean? In Minot? Of course, you saw us. We drove here in the Impala."

The Doctor suppressed a chuckle. "No, I mean together like 'a couple'. Romantically."

The angel's eyes widened, but other than this he showed no reaction. "Oh. No, Dean and I are just friends."

"But you want to, don't you? Trust me, I know the look. Saw it on countless humans over the last few hundred years." the Doctor winked at Castiel.

The angel sighed. "Well, Dean and I share a profound bond. I raised him from hell; I rebelled against heaven; I fell; we stopped the apocalypse; fought our way through purgatory together... I never had occasion to think about all the things I did since I met him and the reasons for them. But now I live at the bunker, I spend much more time with Dean, but also much more time alone, just thinking. And I guess I'm at a point where I have got to admit, that many things I've done in these last years, I did only for Dean. But I never had this kind of connection with a human before. With nobody actually. And I never had these feelings for somebody, so I'm not sure what they are, how to place them. Is it friendship? Love? And if it is love, what kind of love? Brotherly? Romantic? I don't know it Doctor!"

Castiel's voice had gotten louder and more emotional while he'd been talking and he had started to pace the porch. The Doctor just watched him surprised; he hadn't expected the angel to open up like this. But since he had started this, he felt obliged to try and help the man.

"Well, I'm no expert on human emotions or relationships, but I think you should try to figure out what you want from this one. Are you happy with the way it is? Do you wish to spend more time with him alone? To take it to a more... physical level...? You know, kissing and stuff..." the Doctor could feel his ears getting red. He _**so**_ didn't want to be an angelic love counsellor. But maybe this was some sort universal punishment for trying to avoid his own problems.

The angel looked terribly frustrated now, he raked his hands through his already messed up hair, pacing the floor with large, angry steps. "Of course I want to kiss him!" he all but yelled. "I want to touch him all the time, never spend a minute apart from him. He is brave, loyal, kind, loving; his soul is the brightest one I have ever seen, I would do and give everything, just to make him smile, because when he does, it is the most beautiful thing my father has ever created. But what difference does it make?" Castiel was so furious now, that he punched his fist right through the wall of the ancient house.

This seemed to calm him a little bit. He dropped his head, ran his hands over his face and looked up to the Doctor, looking sad and lost. "What difference does it make?" he asked again, in a much lower voice. "So maybe I am in love with him, but he must never know it. It would destroy our friendship; he could never return these feelings. I failed him repeatedly in the past; I am still working in gaining his full trust again and would never jeopardize this. Also Dean is a... like he calls it 'ladies-man' and I am in this male vessel, so he could never see me as a potential mate anyway." he ended miserably.

The Doctor sighed. "Castiel... Cas. You know as well as I do, that this weird perception of gender and sexuality these people have is purely man-made. On other planets or even in the future of this one, these things don't matter anymore. And you are a wavelength! I guess you don't even have a gender." Castiel gave a short nod to this. "See! If you fall in love with someone you don't fall for their gender, you fall for the person."

"I know that Doctor! But Dean... I don't think he thinks that way."

"I really think you're underestimating that hunter of yours. From what Rose told me about you two, I figure you have a rather unusual friendship. Dean may not be aware of his feelings yet, or not be ready to admit them, but believe me, he'll get there. Maybe he just needs a little nudge in the right direction. You could... I don't know. Maybe you could try flirting with Jack." the Doctor's eyes had a mischievous glimmer.

Castiel on the other hand looked highly uncomfortable with this suggestion. "But... I don't like Jack in that way. Why would I do this?"

"Just to make Dean jealous or at least get him thinking." Cas still looked uncertain and frankly a little green. "Oh come on! It's gonna be fun. What have you got to lose?"

"Well, I think... oh but... does it have to be Jack? He is a little... intimidating..." Castiel still looked scared.

The Doctor couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, I guess you could say this."

"Maybe... you could...?" the angel stuttered while a faint pink crept over his face.

The Doctor looked at him dumbfounded. That certainly wasn't what he'd had in mind. But he couldn't possibly bail out now. Oh well, he actually had nothing to lose either...

#####

"So, Dean Winchester." Rose still was giddy about the fact she was sitting in the Impala, talking to the real Dean Winchester. "What happened in the years since Sam took Lucifer back to hell? If you don't mind me asking of course." she quickly added.

Dean looked at the happy smile on the face of the pretty blonde in the passenger seat, who had spent the last minutes roaming his music collection, pointing some of Dean's favorites out to Captain Jack in the backseat, she even told the man about the little army man Sam had crammed in the ashtray. Dean sighed, looking back at the road. "Nah, it's ok. You already know so much about me, wouldn't really be fair to keep you in the dark now, would it?" he winked at her.

And then he started talking. He told them a shortened version of everything that had happened since the day on Stull Cemetery. He told them about his year with Lisa and Ben; about the time Sammy had gotten back into his life and the moment they found out he was lacking his soul. He told them about Cas' betrayal and he actually got a little emotional while recalling the day the Leviathans had walked the angel's body into the lake and Dean had realized that all he had left of his best friend was the trench coat. When he told the about Bobby's death and Sam declining mental health he had to wipe away a tear and from the corner of his eye he could see Rose doing the same.

They had arrived at the cemetery by now, but Dean didn't want to stop his story at this point, so he told them about the moment he looked at the faith healer Emmanuel and realized he had found his friend, who had absolutely no memory of Dean or the fact that he himself was an angel. When he got to the part of Cas getting his memory back, saving Sam and losing his mind in the process, he saw a little smile on Rose's face but couldn't quite place it. He continued his story by telling them about defeating Dick Roman; Cas and him ending up in purgatory; the search for the angel there, that took almost a year; him and Benny getting home; Castiel getting home and finally him and Sam noticing that something was wrong with the angel. He had also filled them in about Kevin and the bunker and ended his story now by telling them about the reason Sam was at home – the demon trials – and about Cas being under mind control by Naomi and Dean snapping him out of it.

"So, that was pretty much everything that happened over the last few years. Wow, I don't remember talking this long… pretty much ever. But it's kinda nice sharing that stuff. But don't tell Sam I said that! EVER!" he glared at Rose, who he now noticed, had a huge smile on her face. "What are you grinning at?" he asked irritated.

"Nothing" she smiled.

"Yeah, whatever. Let's go diggin'" he exited the car, determined to leave the chick-flick moment behind. Dean actually was pretty embarrassed now about telling these strangers all those things. But since they already knew so much about him, it didn't really feel like talking to strangers.

Dean grabbed shovels from the trunk, as well as gas and salt and he and Jack went to work quickly, while Rose stood watch. They had to hurry up, there was only half an hour left till midnight.

#####

"Castiel, watch out!" The Doctor pushed Cas aside just as a ghostly figure launched itself at the angel. They were still on the porch, making sure that nobody went into the house. They had managed to send some college kids away earlier by telling them about the rotten floors and showing them the hole where Rose had broken in. Both of them lost in their own thoughts at the moment, neither of them had noticed how late it already was. The ghost apparently was a very punctual one, because it was just one minute after midnight and he had started his attacks.

Castiel couldn't believe his own stupidity. He had been so occupied by his talk with the Doctor and his thoughts afterwards, that he had completely forgotten to ward the doors and windows of the house with salt. Now there was nothing preventing the ghost from leaving the house. Thankfully it was confined to the grounds, so that was one thing less to worry about. Now the Doctor was dodging a rod that had been lying on the grass and the ghost was hurling at him. "Doctor, we need iron! But it has to be pure!" he shouted at him.

The Doctor rushed over to Rose's basket that was standing abandoned in a corner of the garden, roaming it quickly. He used the sonic to determine which items were pure iron and found an old fire poker and a long rusty chain. He threw the poker at Castiel who caught it easily and immediately used it to dissipate the ghost. The two men regrouped in the middle of the garden, panting slightly. It didn't take the ghost long to recover and flinging himself at them again. They kept on running criss-cross through the grounds, using their weapons to fend the spirit off. The Doctor was grinning madly every time it was his turn to drive their opponent away. Cas couldn't really comprehend what was so funny about fighting the soul of a dead human, but what did he know about fun.

Suddenly the ghost changed his tactics, disappearing before the Doctor's chain could hit him and reappearing behind the time lord, hitting him on the head with the rod. The Doctor slumped to the ground and the spirit lunged for another hit, when all of a sudden he screamed and went up in flames. Obviously Dean and the others had finally managed to salt and burn the remains.

The Doctor collapsed into the grass, panting. "Stupid apes! Even in death they are causing nothing but trouble. What are we even doing on this planet? Neither one of us is bound to it. You could fly to any other planet in the universe and spend a little time there and I can even travel through all of time. But somehow we always come back to this tiny, insignificant world and its inhabitants. What is it about those humans, that always has us coming back?" He was ranting now.

"Well Doctor," Castiel sighed while he was healing the other man's head wound, "technically it is my purpose to love and protect humans. My father created them and assigned us the task of caring for them. But thanks to Sam and Dean I discovered my own free will and still I have the overwhelming desire to protect humanity. They are extraordinary people. I don't have much experience with species from other planets, because my orders were always bound to earth, but I know that humanity is worth saving over and over again. They have all these wonderful things – art, hope, love, dreams. I've never experienced these things before, but since I met Dean... I'm starting to think that maybe angels are meant for all of this too, we just have forgotten or are slower in understanding. I at least am determined to explore this possibility."

"Yes, they are really fascinating people, you're right. I saw the future, saw what the human race is capable of and it's quite endearing to know that they will overcome so many of the issues they have at the moment to get there. And I have to admit that some of them make really great friends." The Doctor was interrupted by his mobile ringing. He looked at it and started smiling. "Speaking of great friends."

#####

"Doctor, are you okay?" Rose spoke into her phone, a little panicky edge to her voice. Dean and Jack saw her relaxing shortly after. "Okay, good. I'm so relieved. Yes, we're all fine, back in the car and on our way to you. See you then, Doctor." She smiled softly when she ended the conversation.

Dean was still on edge. "What happened?"

"They are fine. Yes, Castiel too, I heard him in the background. The ghost attacked, but I guess it takes more than an angry dead guy to bother an angel of the Lord and a 900 year old time lord." she chuckled.

There she was talking about that alien stuff again. Dean didn't say anything, but obviously his thoughts were mirrored on his face, because Rose frowned at him, "What?"

"Nothing." Dean had no desire discussing this with the two of them now.

Rose just stared at him. "You don't believe us. You don't believe that the Doctor is an alien and we are travelling through time." Dean gave no answer, just stared on the road and kept driving. "Dean Winchester, are you kidding me? You travelled through time yourself! You're hunting demons and other monsters, you went to hell and back, you're in love with an angel and I know all of this from a book series about your life, written by a _**prophet**_ for crying out loud, but you have a problem believing the Doctor is from another planet?" Rose turned in her seat, staring at him with furrowed brows.

"Yeah, well it's really hard to... Wait! WHAT? I'm not in love with a frickin angel! What you're talkin' about?" Dean glanced at Rose, who was now gaping at him in serious shock. She took a moment to recover slightly.

"You're joking, right? How long since the apocalypse? Three years? And you two still haven't figured this stuff out?"

"Figured what out? I seriously have not the slightest idea what you are talking about!" Dean looked at her confused, but Rose was sure there was something else in his eyes. Fear maybe?

"Dean, you and Castiel are obviously in love with each other. Everybody who has ever spent more than 5 minutes with you two knows that. I thought you would have figured it out by now and the two of you were a happy couple. But you are way deeper in denial than I had thought possible." she looked really sad by now.

Dean hit the brakes hard, bringing the Impala to full stop on the thankfully deserted dark road. "WHAT? I am NOT in love with CAS! And he most certainly is NOT in love with me! Why would he be? I'm just some dumb tiny human. And he is…" he trailed off, feeling his cheeks grow hot. He cleared his throat, ignoring Rose's triumphant grin. "Anyway, we're both guys and neither one of us is into that. We are just friends, nothing more." He carried on driving, still ignoring the girl on his passenger seat, who snorted and seemed to suppress a laugh.

Now Jack apparently felt obliged to add to the conversation. "Listen, I don't know you, I didn't read the books, but I do know, that if I were stuck in purgatory and somebody told me a way out, I would take it as fast as possible, not spend a whole year running around, searching for the guy whose fault it was I ended up there in the first place. And everything you told us about Cas' deal with that 'king of hell' and so on – would you really have forgiven somebody else for pulling all that crap?"

„Dude, what the hell? Not two hours ago you were hitting on the guy and now you're trying to hook me up with him?" Dean was really annoyed now.

"I wasn't hitting on him! I was just saying hello!" Jack said a little defensive.

"For you that's flirting", Rose threw in cheerfully. Jack glared at her, but it quickly turned into a smug grin. "Anyway. That's actually kind of the point. Even if I would be flirting with him, I wouldn't stand a chance!"

"Yeah, of course not! 'Cause you're a dude!" Dean all but yelled.

"No, dumbass! Because I'm not you!" Jack yelled exasperated. That left Dean in stunned silence. "Do you really not see it? Castiel is crazy about you. Flirting with him is pointless, he doesn't even notice it. I guess he doesn't even consider us normal people in that way. We're just... people. Just ordinary humans. But you... You are special to him. You can see it in his eyes when he looks at you, hear it in his voice when he talks to you or says your name. To him you are no ordinary human. You are above us all, better than us. And look at all the things he did for you. He died for you several times. He fell for you in every way possible. "

"That's ridiculous. I'm nothing special. Why would Cas put me on some kind of pedestal?"

"Because he loves you! And that's what people do when they love somebody. Angels too apparently." Rose said a little annoyed. "And you do it, too. You gotta admit that in your mind, there are angels and there's Cas. You set him apart from the rest of his kind. And you know as well as I do, that you wouldn't have forgiven anybody else all that stuff he did, angel or human."

Dean said nothing, just kept staring forwards, driving in tensed silence. Rose and Jack exchanged a look, worried they'd made things worse. Jack knew he at least had to try to save the situation.

"Look. I don't say you should declare your undying love for him to us. I know you barely know us. But please Dean, at least think about it. Don't blow your chance at happiness just because you're scared or think you're not worth it. He should get to decided that for himself. And to be honest, if there really is nothing more than friendship between you two, all these staring matches and wordless conversations are creepy as hell." Jack winked.

Dean couldn't help rolling his eyes at the Captain in the back mirror at this.

#####

"Doctor!" Rose jumped out of the Impala before it had even stopped properly and ran to flung herself into the arms of the man sitting in the grass with Castiel. "I'm so glad you're okay."

The Doctor smiled softly as he stroked her hair reassuringly and allowed himself to hold onto her a little longer than strictly necessary. Neither one of them saw the knowing smirk Dean and Jack exchanged, united in a moment of shared knowledge about the feelings the Doctor and Rose had for each other. Of course Jack had to ruin the moment by wiggling his eyebrows and pointing his head in Castiel's direction, the smirk growing wider when Dean immediately turned crimson. The hunter groaned annoyed and left the conman standing on the sidewalk.

He walked over to his – **the **– angel, extending his hand for Cas to grab and helping him stand up. Not that the angel actually needed help, but it was nice of him to let Dean feel useful. "Everything alright Cas? Think the house is clear?"

"Hello Dean. Yes, I think there will be no more ghostly encounters at this place. And yes, I am fine, thank you for asking. The Doctor had my back, as they say." he added, turning to look at the Doctor and… smile. Dean nearly did a double take when he saw Castiel give the Doctor a fond little smile, which the other man returned.

Dean felt his inside clench in shock and disbelieve. What did Cas do, giving the Doctor this smile? That was Dean's smile! And wow, yeah, ok, maybe Rose and Jack actually had a point. All Dean could do to stop himself from yelling at Cas was turning away and take a deep breath. His eyes fell on the blue telephone box on the sidewalk. These people really expected him to believe that this little thing was a space ship. Yeah, right.

"Wanna see it?" Dean hadn't noticed Rose coming to stand next to him. She smiled at him, knowing that otherwise he would never believe them. Dean just nodded and the group walked over to the box. Rose put her key into the lock, turned it and opened the door, grinning at him. "Dean Winchester, welcome to the Tardis."

#####

Dean didn't speak. He couldn't. He could only stare, open mouthed, trying to take everything in. Ok, maybe they had told the truth after all. He vaguely noticed the Doctor fumbling at the big console in the middle of the room and Cas standing next to him, asking questions and being overall very interested in every move the alien - yeah ok, maybe he really was an alien - made. Then there suddenly was a strange noise, some kind of wheezing and groaning and when it stopped Rose looked at the Doctor, obviously waiting for something. The Doctor nodded at her and she turned to Dean, grinning widely. "We thought you might want to see what it is you are doing all of this for." she said, stepping around the hunter and opened the door he was still standing in front of.

Dean crooked his neck to see what she was doing and nearly fainted. They were in space, looking down at the beautiful blue planet he called home. "Is… Is this really…?" He could only stammer.

"Yes, it's the earth. Beautiful, isn't it?" Rose smiled softly. She and Jack were standing next to him, watching it fondly. "And don't worry, the Doctor extended the Tardis' air shell, so we can safely lean outside to see better."

"Wow, that's unbelievable. Cas, you gotta…" Dean broke off when he looked over his shoulder and saw Castiel deep in conversation with the Doctor, both of them still hunched over the console, their backs to the door. The angel apparently hadn't even noticed Dean calling for him. The happy smile slid off the hunter's face. The nasty feeling from earlier was back, gnawing at his insides.

"Yes, I see. You're totally not into him, are you?" Jack whispered into Dean's ear, chuckling. Dean just scowled at him. He then looked at Rose, whose brow was furrowed while she watched the two men at the console in so close proximity. "I'm not the only one affected, huh?" he asked her quietly.

She blinked and looked up at him. "What? Oh, uhm, yeah, I'm not used to seeing him getting along with somebody this good, I guess." She smiled ruefully at Dean. "Well, aren't we some jealous little idiots?"

The hunter looked at her surprised. Then he smiled. Okay, if that 19 year old girl could admit to having a thing for a 900 year old time travelling alien, then maybe Dean Winchester could consider to have a closer look at his feelings for his best friend. And right now he really really wanted to enjoy this once in a lifetime view with said friend. "Cas! Come have a look outside. It's absolutely stunning."

"Dean, I have seen the earth from space several times. But this technology is extraordinary and I…" he trailed off when he looked at Dean, apparently seeing something in the hunter's face that caused him to smile at his friend and to cross the console room without another word to stand next to him at the door, looking outside. Now Dean could really take pleasure in this experience.

Neither of them saw the smiles the Doctor, Rose and Jack exchanged.

#####

"Wow, that was really great! Thanks so much guys!" Dean stepped out of the Tardis, now back under the lamppost in front of the formerly haunted house. He chuckled, "Sam will have a fit when he hears what he missed out on."

"Maybe we can do this again, then he can see the Tardis. You got my number; give me a call if you need us. You can reach me anywhere in time and space thanks to the Doctor's jiggery-pockery." Rose pulled the hunter into a tight hug, seizing the opportunity to whisper into his ear "And keep me posted on… things…" She released him and winked at him, getting a smile in return. "Thank you for letting us trail along, it was absolutely fantastic."

They all said their farewells, Jack hugging Castiel tightly and winking suggestively at him, clearly enjoying the angel's discomfort. Then Rose, the Doctor and Jack went back into the Tardis, waving one last time at their new friends and Dean and Cas stood on the sidewalk and watched the Tardis dematerializing.

Rose hugged the Doctor from behind, startling him. "Thank you for this Doctor. It was truly wonderful. Now I'm ready for LA." She gave him her tongue-in-cheek grin, the one that seemed to be reserved for him.

#####

Two days later Rose was lying on a blanket at El Matador Beach, when Jack exited the Tardis and walked the short way over to her from where the blue box was parked. "Hey, the Doctor asked me to tell you that we're going to Cardiff after we're finished here. He wants to park the Tardis on top of the Rift for a little while to fuel her up. Oh, and your phone beeped." He threw her the mobile, which you caught in midair. Rose chuckled softly, still amused by the Doctor's reaction when he saw her this morning. She had crossed the console room dressed only in her bikini and a towel that was wrapped around her hips. The Doctor had taken one look at her, instantly turned bright crimson and smacked his head on the piece of console he had been working under. Apparently still terribly embarrassed, he now refused to leave the Tardis, making excuses about some very urgent repairs.

Still smiling, Rose lay back down, turning her gaze to the mobile in her hand. She had one new text message. "Talked to him, takin him out to dinner on Saturday. Guess you were right ;) Thank you! Don't be a stranger. Dean P.S. Don't make my mistake, don't wait years!"

"Hey Jack, it's a text from Dean! He did it, he asked Cas out." Rose cheerfully announced.

"Good for him!" Jack chimed happily from the blanket next to hers. "Guess now it's your turn, huh Rosie?" He winked at Rose, causing her to blush.

She seemed to think for a minute, and then suddenly got up from the blanket, determination on her face. "You know what? You're right! But first I gotta talk to Mickey. Good thing we're going to Cardiff next. I think I should talk to the Doctor to know when to make a date Mickey." and she stalked off, heading to the Tardis.

Jack lay back onto his blanket; arms folded behind his head and grinned into the sun, satisfied with his work.


End file.
